Exporters in Bangladesh say they are losing their competitive edge because of recent falls in South-East Asian currency values. Bangladesh exported more than four billion dollars worth of clothing this year but manufacturers now say prices are cheaper in the Far East, despite the higher labour costs there. The garment sector is the prime export business of Bangladesh, employing more than a million women. As our Dhaka correspondent Francis Harrison reports, the government is now under pressure to protect the country's first industrial success story.

Exporters in Bangladesh want their government to de-value the local currency or provide them subsidies. Already they are receiving faxes from buyers abroad saying their goods are too expensive.

A dozen T-shirts made in Indonesia would have cost seventeen dollars a few months ago: now, because of the currency drop, they are selling for only ten dollars. Even with some of the cheapest labour in Asia, Bangladesh can no longer compete.

Womens' wear made in the Philippines used to be 30% more expensive than in Bangladesh. Now the cost is the same.

And Far Eastern goods have other advantages -- better quality, ability to handle smaller orders and faster delivery times. Bangladeshi factory owners also complain that they have to pay high dollar prices for raw materials they purchase from South-East Asia; the countries in the region are allowed to pay in local currency, which almost halves the price.

Exporters in Bangladesh say their rivals in India and Pakistan have benefited from government subsidies of up to 21% and they say currencies in those countries have been allowed to fall further than the Bangladeshi taka.

The clothing industry in Bangladesh had already been battered by a dispute over quotas with the European Union and publicity over the use of child labour.